PTSD EDUCATION THAT RESPECTS YOUR INTELLIGENCE
Understand PTSD. Find the right tools. Bring Virginia’s expertise to your people.
Virginia Cruse is a combat veteran, licensed trauma therapist, educator, and author of the PTSD Recovery Series. In partnership with executive leadership coach Dr. Kerri Burchill, she helps leaders and organizations understand how critical incidents, chronic stress, and past leadership decisions can continue to affect trust, communication, and performance. Together, they assess organizational challenges and develop practical approaches to rebuilding trust, strengthening teams, and improving how people work together. Learn more →
Combat Veteran
MILITARY-CULTURE INFORMED · First responder researcher
LPC-S · NCC
LICENSED TRAUMA THERAPIST
Author & Educator
EIGHT PUBLISHED BOOKS
Evidence-Based Treatments
PE, CPT, WET, and EMDR
5 States
TX · OK · LA · AR · OH
A book can start the conversation. Virginia can help you take it further.
Bring the PTSD Recovery Series into your organization as more than a handout. Pair the books with a keynote, training, facilitated discussion, or custom learning experience built for your people.
Work with Virginia
Give your audience more than awareness.
Build understanding, create a shared language, and leave people with practical tools they can use after the event ends.
01
Speaking & Keynotes
Candid presentations that help leaders understand how critical incidents, chronic stress, and organizational history shape the way teams work.
02
Training & Workshops
Practical sessions on trust, communication, accountability, and leading teams through change.
03
Team Sessions
Guided conversations that help teams name what is getting in the way, hear different perspectives, and agree on how to move forward.
04
Organizational Consultation
Help leaders understand the why behind the what - the organizational history and patterns driving turnover, conflict, and poor morale.
05
Leadership Development
Support for leaders who have inherited a team affected by a critical incident, broken trust, or a difficult period of change.
06
Executive Coaching
Individual support to help leaders communicate clearly, follow through consistently, and rebuild trust.
The PTSD Recovery Series
Start with the book written for where you are.
No psychobabble. No pretending recovery is easy. Just clear explanations, practical tools, and the honest next step.
Best place to start for
SERVICE MEMBERS & VETERANS
The Soldier’s Guide to PTSD
How to no-sh*t reclaim your life. Straight talk on trauma, symptoms, and the treatments that actually work.
Best place to start for
WOMEN & PARTNERS
PTSD: Acknowledge & Heal
A women-focused guide to understanding PTSD causes, symptoms, and effects on daily life.
Best place to start for
FIRST RESPONDERS & FAMILIES
After the Call
You're not weak. You're human. A no-nonsense guide to PTSD for EMS, fire, dispatch, and law enforcement — and the people who love them.
Get the bundle (5 book series)
THE COMPLETE MILITARY SERIES
The PTSD Recovery Collection
All four military titles — the Guide, the Workbook, the Field Manual, and the Field Journal — in one set.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
WHAT READERS SAY
Trusted because it tells the truth plainly.
4.6 ★
Reader favorite on Amazon and Goodreads
★★★★★
Karen · Amazon book review
These are reviews of Virginia’s books, not testimonials for clinical services. Ratings and review counts may change over time.
“Everyone deserves to recover from PTSD and reclaim their lives.”
Clinical depth. Military context. Human language.
Virginia knows the gap between hearing a diagnosis and actually understanding what it means for your life.
She enlisted in the Army Reserve in 1997, served in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, and later transitioned to the mental health field. Today, she brings the perspective of a combat Veteran, licensed professional counselor-supervisor, researcher, educator, and author to every room she enters.
Her style is direct and practical: explain what is happening, name what can help, and give people a next step they can actually use.
Follow publicly. Go deeper intentionally.
Virginia's public Facebook Page is the front door for new writing, book news, and practical PTSD education. The private group is an intimate support community for people actively working on PTSD recovery.
PUBLIC COMMUNITY
45K+
Follow the PTSD Recovery Series
Practical education, new resources, book updates, and conversation.
Private support community
1.7K+
Join the community
An intimate, supportive space for PTSD recovery - real conversation with people who get it.
Keep learning with Virginia.
Clear explanations for the moments when a diagnosis, symptom, or relationship pattern finally needs to make sense.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Get to know Virginia and the work.
Still not sure where to begin? Send a short, non-confidential message and Virginia will follow up by email with the right next step.
Is Virginia available for speaking and training?
Yes. Virginia is available for keynotes, training and workshops, team sessions, organizational consultation, leadership development, and executive coaching. Use the inquiry form to share your audience, goals, location, and timing, and she'll follow up by email.
What topics does Virginia speak about?
Her core topics include how critical incidents, chronic stress, and an organization's history affect trust, communication, accountability, and performance - and how leaders can help teams move forward. Virginia regularly speaks on PTSD, moral injury, trauma recovery, evidence-based treatment, military and veteran culture, first responder wellness, and how families and organizations can respond more effectively.
Which PTSD Recovery Series book should I start with?
The Soldier's Guide to PTSD is the clearest starting point for military members, veterans, and families. After the Call was written for first responders - EMS, fire, dispatch, and law enforcement - and the people who love them. Acknowledge & Heal was written with women and trauma survivors in mind. The Field Manual and companion workbooks and journals are designed for readers ready for structured follow-through.
Can an organization order books in bulk?
Yes. Bulk orders and book-centered program packages can be discussed for units, nonprofits, conferences, treatment programs, peer groups, and professional education settings.
Does Virginia provide counseling?
Virginia currently does not offer counseling.
What are Virginia’s credentials and background?
Virginia Cruse is an LPC-S, NCC, combat Veteran, trauma therapist, educator, published researcher, author, and 2025 Tillman Scholar. Her work is informed by military service, clinical practice, and evidence-based PTSD treatment.
Is the private Facebook group open to everyone?
The public Facebook Page is open to everyone and is the best place to follow Virginia's work. The private PTSD Recovery Series group is an intimate support community for people working on PTSD recovery. Anyone is welcome to request to join; members are asked to agree to the community guidelines so the space stays safe and supportive.
Does an email or website inquiry begin a counseling relationship?
No. Sending an email, form, or social message does not establish a counselor-client relationship. A clinical relationship begins only after acceptance as a client and completion of the practice’s intake and informed-consent process. Do not send confidential or emergency information through a general inquiry.
Public-facing work via Virginia Cruse and The PTSD Recovery Series. Clinical services are not currently being offered.
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IMPORTANT
Website information is educational and is not medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a substitute for professional care.
In an emergency: This website, email, and social media are not crisis services. Call 911, go to the nearest emergency room, or call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
© 2026 Virginia Cruse. All rights reserved.
Military Counseling Center San Antonio, PLLC